Last month, Colorado sales rep Casey Wright spent a weekend
in San Francisco helping out at the “Try it, buy it” Vintner’s Market. Around
6,500 people attended the two day event at Fort Mason. People wandered through
the crowds trying wines from hundreds of different vendors and buying their
favorites on the spot. Casey was joined by North California sales rep, Jeanine
Mack-Velez, and winemaker, Tony Wasowicz.
Here’s what Casey had to say about the experience:
The event gave me a great opportunity to see what the
California market is like and experience the great responses to our mission at
Cru Vin Dogs. There were about 4,500 attendees the first day – it was wall to
wall. We spent the day with a “five deep” line, talking about our wines,
tasting consumers and connecting with dog and wine lovers. The day was fun but intense and, boy, did it
go by quickly.
Sunday was a bit calmer with only 2,000 people. It gave us a
better chance to really explain our mission to each person and get more quality
time with our supporters.
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| Tony, Jeanine, Oahu, Casey, and Debbie |
We were also lucky enough to have Canine Companion for
Independence volunteer, Debbie, join us with the beautiful service dog, Oahu. CCI
is local to California, so it was wonderful to have them present at the event. Debbie
and Oahu spent a lot of time wandering around the crowd telling people about
Cru Vin Dogs and CCI. The sight of Oahu brought so many people over to our
table, including some other CCI volunteers. The attendees were excited to see a
dog at the tasting and it helped them to understand how Cru Vin Dogs gives
back.
The weekend gave me the opportunity to spend a lot of time
talking the actual Cru Vin Dogs consumers, which I don’t always get to do on a
day to day basis. Hearing their feedback, how much they love our wines and our
labels, and listening to them share their stories about their dogs reminded me
of why I am so passionate about Cru Vin Dogs and the work that I do.
The whole weekend was a fantastic experience – it gave me
the chance to see a different part of the sales world. I hope to participate in
more events like this one in the future!
